Tech FAQ - last minute changes


to Megami ML <megami@ml.usagi.org>
from Brian Welch <bwelchz7@yahoo.com>
subject Tech FAQ - last minute changes
date Thu, 8 Aug 2002 20:14:50 -0700 (PDT)
Rather than repost the whole thing, here are the sections which
received significant changes from v0.7 

Rax, I'll send you v1.0 tomorrow so you can post it. 

The changes:
Seals are now in their own section (Section 4) and a new section was
added to Section 9 (previously Section 8).

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1.     WHY THIS FAQ?

  1A.  NOTES

2.     WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE AMG UNIVERSE?

  2A.  WHAT IS THE UNIVERSAL SUPERSTRING?

  2B.  WHAT IS YGGDRASIL?

  2C.  HOW DOES YGGDRASIL WORK?

  2D.  WHO RUNS YGGDRASIL?

  2E.  WHAT IS THE DEMONS' COMPUTER SYSTEM?

  2F.  WHERE IS HEAVEN?

  2G.  IS HEAVEN'S UNIVERSE SIMILAR TO OUR OWN?

3.     WHAT IS THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF A GODDESS?

  3A.  HOW DOES A GODDESS GET HERE?

  3B.  WHY CAN WE SEE GODDESSES?

  3C.  CAN ANYTHING IN THIS UNIVERSE AFFECT A GODDESS?

  3D.  HOW POWERFUL IS A GODDESS?

  3E.  HOW LONG DO GODDESSES LIVE?

  3F.  WHERE DO GODDESSES GET THEIR ENERGY?

  3G.  DO GODDESSES EAT?

  3H.  WHERE DO ALL THOSE OUTFITS COME FROM?

  3I.  WHAT DO GODDESS CLASSIFICATIONS MEAN?

  3J.  WHAT DO GODDESS MARKINGS MEAN?

  3K.  DO ALL GODDESSES HAVE DOMAINS?

4.     WHAT ARE SEALS AND HOW DO THEY WORK?

  4A.  WHAT ARE POWER LIMITERS?

5.     WHAT ARE ANGELS?

  5A.  HOW DOES A GODDESS ACQUIRE AN ANGEL?

  5B.  WHAT LIMITATIONS DO ANGELS HAVE?

  5C.  CAN A GODDESS LOSE HER ANGEL?

  5D.  HOW MANY ANGELS CAN A GODDESS HAVE?

  5E.  DO DEMONS HAVE ANGELS?

6.     HOW DO TRANSPORT MEDIUMS WORK?

  6A.  WHAT OTHER TELEPORTATION TRICKS CAN A GODDESS DO?

7.     ARE GODS AND DEMONS RELATED?

8.     WHY DO GODS AND DEMONS NEVER KILL EACH OTHER?

  8A.  WHAT IS THE DOUBLET SYSTEM?

9.     WHAT ARE CONTRACTS?

  9A.  CAN A CONTRACT BIND A GODDESS AGAINST HER WILL? 

10.    WHAT OTHER MAGICAL BEINGS ARE THERE?

*****

3H.  WHERE DO ALL THOSE OUTFITS COME FROM?

A goddess dissolves her old outfit on a molecular level and assembles
a new one every time she changes clothes. It is likely that even 
Skuld does this since she, like the other goddesses, never wears the 
same outfit twice. It is also possible that she constructs her 
outfits without magic, as she does her mechanical devices, or keeps 
an extensive wardrobe in the same place where she stores those bombs.
For the record, we have seen Belldandy, Urd and Mara dissolve and 
recreate their clothes. In V9 Ch55, Urd is even half way through 
dissolving her outfit when she changes her mind and reassembles it. 

*****

3L.  DO ALL GODDESSES HAVE DOMAINS?

No. Urd's domain is the past, Belldandy's is the present, and Skuld's
is the future, but no other goddesses have specific titles that label
them as "Goddess of ___". Neither Peorth nor Rind have domains or
titles, and neither do Mara or Velsper. Domains don't seem to have
that much to do with the day-to-day responsibilities of Urd,
Belldandy, or Skuld. They are clearly linked with these domains as
Belldandy explains in V6 Ch41, but Belldandy isn't normally referred
to as "Goddess of the Present". 

Despite the fact that they don't control the fates of the gods, the 
sisters still carry the title of Norn (V5 Ch33) which is held in high

regard by Heaven (Ch156).

*****

4.   WHAT ARE SEALS AND HOW DO THEY WORK?

The purpose of a seal is to "bottle up" something. Seals always
appear as physical devices. They may take the form of a mirror, a
ball, etc. A seal can be designed to allow the sealed entity to
remain conscious or not, and to communicate with unsealed beings or
not. A seal can be made to remain in effect for any length of time,
or indefinitely. V10 Ch61 contains a lot of information about seals.

In general, a seal must be made specifically for the thing it is to
seal. For example, a seal made to restrain a goddess will not hold a
demon (at least not for long) and vice versa. In V11 Ch63 a seal made
for goddess/demon hybrid Urd held her goddess half for only a short
time before failing, even though her goddess half was unconscious and
weakened at the time, unable to fight the seal. A seal can also fail
if a powerful artifact is sealed along with the goddess. In V4 Ch27
Belldandy reasons that she will be able to break Mara's seal because
she is holding the Gods' CD.

*****

9.   WHAT ARE CONTRACTS?

Both gods and demons honor their own contracts, though of course not
those made by the other side. Divine contracts do not require
payment, but the recipients are carefully selected. Demonic contracts
can be made with anyone but require compensation, such as ones soul.
Contracts, both divine and demonic, have force and are difficult to
terminate. 

9A.  CAN A CONTRACT BIND A GODDESS AGAINST HER WILL? 

No. As Mara says in V4 Ch26, Belldandy can terminate her contract 
with Keiichi any time she chooses to. Judging by Peorth's reaction in

V11 Ch66, the contract between Belldandy and Keiichi is unique in 
that it binds a goddess to a mortal. Binding a goddess against her 
will is apparently grounds for the summary dismissal of a contract. 
Interestingly, the contract between Belldandy and Keiichi is 
invalidated in V6 Ch39 but has been reinstated by the time Peorth 
arrives in V11 Ch66. 

*****

OK, that's the meat of the changes. 

Sorry, Chan Wei Lik, but I'm going to keep vague the part about the
servant demon implanted into Belldandy. Maybe I'm just squeamish, but
it was too shocking to me for it to be revealed in something like
this. Maybe after the end of the story arc, when we know how things
turn out I'll feel better about it and put it in. As you say, it
doesn't fit the spirit of the rest of the FAQ.

Brian Welch


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